Inside the Kanye West Think Tank

Most of Kanye West’s best music has been produced using a think-tank approach—take a group of people, put them in a room, see what comes of it—and his imminent seventh album looks to take a similar strategy. Over the years, he’s gotten artists from divergent backgrounds to work together, whether it was Jay Z and Talib Kweli breaking down hip-hop barriers on 2003's "Get By" remix, or Rick Ross and Justin Vernon combining their bearded forces for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. A lot of good has come from this method, though a lot of these collaborators end up just feeding Kanye’s legend. Here are a few of the lesser-known cogs in the Kanye West machine.

Rhymefest

Kanye Affiliation: The Chicago rapper born Che Smith supposedly beat Eminem in a rap battle in what now seems like another life, but he is still best known for co-writing one of Kanye’s solo breakouts, "Jesus Walks," which won a Grammy for Best Rap Song in 2005. (Rhymefest also brought Kanye the song "Jesus Walks" samples: the ARC Choir’s "Walk With Me.") Since then, he’s worked sparingly with Kanye, first on his own debut single "Brand New" and, more recently, as a co-writer on Yeezus’ "New Slaves."

What He Added: A bit of revolutionary zeal.

Where Is He Now? In 2011, Rhymefest finished second in the race to be the alderman of Chicago’s 20th Ward. And a little over a decade since he first won gold for "Jesus Walks," the rapper was again rewarded for his writing at the 2015 Oscars, this time for his contributions to Common and John Legend’s Selma song "Glory."

Kanye Bump? Sort of. Working with Kanye didn’t do much to push Rhymefest’s solo career, but given the fact that he is now halfway to an EGOT, it’s hard to argue he didn’t benefit.

GLC

Kanye Affiliation: GLC was one of Kanye’s earliest collaborators, one of the first signees to his G.O.O.D. Music imprint in 2004, and also a member of Kanye’s first rap group, Go Getters. He appeared on The College Dropout’s "Spaceships" and Late Registration’s "Drive Slow"—two of Kanye’s more introspective cuts. Even though he never released an album under the G.O.O.D Music umbrella, GLC was still very much in the fold, and, on his 2010 debut Love, Life, & Loyalty, a number of the tracks were co-produced by Kanye.

What He Added: A booming voice amid shadows.

Where Is He Now? GLC’s contributions on Kanye releases have petered out in recent years, but GLC remains very active as a rapper, albeit on a much smaller scale. He’s released 11 mixtapes since 2011, the most recent being 2014’s By Ism Means Necessary. He also made guest appearances on Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Rager and Kendrick Lamar’s Section.80.

Kanye Bump? The Kanye connection never paid any real dividends for GLC. He released one album in a decade, and hardly anyone heard it.

Consequence

Kanye Affiliation: After first debuting with A Tribe Called Quest on 1996’s Beats, Rhymes, and Life, Consequence became one of the earliest members of the Kanye Think Tank—and one of the most vocal about how it functions. (In an interview with MTV RapFix Live, he once spoke about sitting in on Kanye’s writing sessions.) He was a featured guest on tracks from The College Dropout and Late Registration, and, as one of the earliest faces of the G.O.O.D. Music brand, he appeared alongside Kanye and John Legend on DJ Khaled’s 2006 single, "Grammy Family." (He however never actually won his own Grammy.) Consequence was also a co-writer on "Say You Will," the opener from 808s & Heartbreak, but he hasn’t collaborated with Kanye since their falling out, which was mostly a byproduct of Kanye upgrading to Pusha T.

What He Added: Blue-collar appeal.

Where Is He Now? Since leaving G.O.O.D. Music, Consequence has started his own label, Band Camp Records, but hasn’t yet found much solo success.

Kanye Bump? No. There was never much of draw to Consequence, even as he continued to pop up in the margins of Kanye’s music and celebrity.

Teyana Taylor

Kanye Affiliation: A one-time signee of Pharrell Williams’ Star-Trak label, Teyana Taylor met Kanye during his oft-mythologized Glow in the Dark Tour with Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco, and N.E.R.D in 2008. She ended up in the studio for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and her vocals are featured on the album’s opener, "Dark Fantasy," as well as the deep cut "Hell of a Life." She was also featured on the G.O.O.D. Friday track, "Christmas in Harlem." Two years later, Taylor was released from her contract with Interscope and promptly signed to G.O.O.D. Music. She was later featured on the G.O.O.D. compilation Cruel Summer before releasing her label debut, VII, in 2014.

What She Added: Capable, maybe even adept, background vocals.

Where Is She Now? Taylor judged the eighth season of the MTV reality competition, "America’s Best Dance Crew" last year.

Kanye Bump? Yes, in the sense of name recognition and ongoing support.

Really Doe

Kanye Affiliation: It’s very much a fact that that Kanye once rapped, "In the studio with Really Doe, yeah, he next up" on "Diamonds From Sierra Leone," because even then the Chicago rapper born Warren Trotter seemed unlikely to make an impact. He signed with G.O.O.D. Music in 2005 and was featured on Late Registration that same year, but never released an album under the imprint and was in large part forgotten. Kanye did make an appearance on his eventual debut, 2009’s First Impressions, along with longtime think tankers GLC and Malik Yusef.

What He Added: The excitable voice of an easily distinguishable foot soldier.

Where Is He Now? His last guest shot was on a song called "Touchdown" in 2014 for a rapper named PMARTT.

Kanye Bump? No, but he was G.O.O.D. Music’s Peedi Crakk, a posse-cut building block.

Malik Yusef

Kanye Affiliation: Poet Malik Yusef has been a longtime writer in the Kanye Think Tank, dating all the way back to a 2005 collaboration on the soundtrack for the Sam Jackson footnote Coach Carter. He is one of the few early G.O.O.D. Music signees to actually release an album, 2009’s G.O.O.D. Morning, G.O.O.D Night. He co-wrote a slew of Kanye singles and album cuts between 2008-10, including "Heartless," "Love Lockdown," "Dark Fantasy," "All of the Lights," "Devil in a New Dress," and "Runaway." Yusef appeared as a writer and a guest on the Cruel Summer compilation, and most recently, he co-wrote eight songs on Yeezus, among them "Black Skinhead," "New Slaves," and "On Sight."

What He Added: A trusted, sagely perspective.

Where Is He Now? He keeps a low profile but is liable to pop up on the new album, especially given the fact that he’s been talking about itsince October 2014. Recently, he did take some time to nominate Pope Francis the first hip-hop pope.

Kanye Bump? Not really, but Yusef never seemed all that interested in the spotlight.

Cyhi the Prynce

Kanye Affiliation: As legend has it (or as Cyhi tells it), it was Beyoncé who convinced Kanye to sign the Georgia native. And Cyhi seemed to leave an indelible mark instantly, appearing on a Kanye album far quicker than longtime signee Big Sean, rapping side-by-side with Jay Z and Pusha T on "So Appalled" from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. He was later a part of the Cruel Summer comp and wrote for Yeezus, though he dissed Kanye out of personal frustration last year, later claiming it wasn’t a diss but a jab in good fun, and that he was still signed with G.O.O.D. Cyhi’s story seems to check out, as his name is clearly seen on the new album’s now-famous signature pad.

What He Added: A specific brand of punch-happy aloofness.

Where Is He Now? He is prepping an album called L.I.O.N.

Kanye Bump? There was never much hope for Cyhi the Prynce, critically or commercially.

Nottz

Kanye Affiliation: Virginia producer Nottz, who first came into view producing for Busta Rhymes, originally came into contact with the Kanye Think Tank when he produced "Caught Up in the Hype" for then-G.O.O.D Music signee Consequence in 2005. A few years later, he would go on to produce the Lil Wayne-featuring "Barry Bonds" for Graduation.

What He Added: A little taste of the raw.

Where Is He Now? Last year, Nottz released Home Sweet Home with Rapper Big Pooh (formerly of Little Brother) and produced Mac Miller’s "Pet Sounds" with the late Sean Price. He just released an EP with Asher Roth and Travis Barker called RAWTHER.

Syleena Johnson

Kanye Affiliation: R&B singer/songwriter Syleena Johnson only has one contribution to the Kanye canon, but it is still hugely memorable: the hook for "All Falls Down," from The College Dropout. That same year, Kanye produced a track for her third studio album, Chapter 3: The Flesh.

What She Added: A supreme outpouring of emotional honesty.

Where Is She Now? Johnson is still making music, and she released her most recent album, Chapter 6: Couples Therapy, in 2014. But she is probably now best known for being a reality star on TV One’s "R&B Divas: Atlanta" with Faith Evans and Angie Stone.

Kanye Bump? Johnson saw some residual effects in the immediate aftermath of "All Falls Down," when Chapter 3 hit #15 on the Billboard R&B charts, but it didn’t do much for her in the long run.

Paul Wall

Kanye Affiliation: Two thousand and five was the best year of Houston rapper Paul Wall’s life (musically speaking, at least): He got a major label deal; his single, "Sittin Sidewayz," went gold; his album, The People’s Champ, debut at #1 and went platinum; and he somehow pushed grills to a ridiculous level of national popularity. In the middle of all of this success, he guested on Late Registration deep cut "Drive Slow."

Kanye Bump? He was already headed for a big debut that year, with or without Kanye.

Mr. Hudson

Kanye Affiliation: English singer/producer Mr. Hudson was important to the Auto-Tune-drenched 808s & Heartbreak era. He produced "Street Lights" and was featured on the single "Paranoid." A year later, in 2009, Kanye returned the favor on the Mr. Hudson single "Supernova." Hudson was also featured on the grief-stricken Watch the Throne closer, "Why I Love You."

What He Added: A medium through which to express woe.

Where Is He Now? Mr. Hudson’s last appearance stateside came in 2013 on Future’s flop of a single "Real and True," which also featured Miley Cyrus and was at one time meant for Honest. Hudson’s fourth studio album, rumored to be titled Autumn in August, is (allegedly) coming out this year on G.O.O.D. Music and Mercury Records, led by the single "Dancing Thru It."

Kanye Bump? Yes: "Supernova" peaked at #2 on the UK charts.

King L

Kanye Affiliation: A standout on Chicago’s drill scene, King L was one of two rising Chicago street rappers to contribute to Yeezus (the other being Chief Keef).

What He Added: A single, sleepy-eyed rap verse as well as new-school Southside credibility.

Where Is He Now? King L most recently made headlines when he survived a gunshot to the head, but he remains active in Chicago’s diverse rap scene, working with locals like Lil Durk, G Herbo, Katie Got Bandz, Keef, Fredo Santana, and Chance the Rapper (on the standout Surf cut "Familiar"). He’s also released a slew of mixtapes, the highlights being his Drilluminati trilogy.

Plain Pat

Kanye Affiliation: Plain Pat was Kanye’s manager during the early stage of his career and mixed ‘Ye’s underrated 2007 mixtape, Can’t Tell Me Nothing. (Remember this?) He would later give Kanye Kid Cudi’s A Kid Named Cudi mixtape, which inevitably then led to Kanye signing him. He is credited as an A&R on The College Dropout, Graduation, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and Cruel Summer. He has co-writing and production credits on Graduation’s "The Glory," the Cudi-featuring 808s cut "Welcome to Heartbreak," and Twisted Fantasy’s "Monster," three dramatically different songs. Pat was also among the dozens of writers on the raucous one-off 2015 jam "All Day."

What He Added: A careful curator’s touch.

Where Is He Now? Currently managing Minnesota rapper Allan Kingdom, who recently released his fourth mixtape, Northern Lights.

Kanye Bump? Yes. Plain Pat was already an esteemed middleman, acting as A&R for Ghostface Killah’s acclaimed Fishscale and Freeway’s Philadelphia Freeway, and Kanye has now put on for two different artists he’s managed: first Kid Cudi and now Allan Kingdom.

S1

Kanye Affiliation: This Texas producer started as a member of the rap group Strange Fruit Project. He first worked with Kanye on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as the co-producer of lead single, "Power" and contributed production to both Kanye albums that followed: the Jay Z collab Watch the Throne and Yeezus. He is signed to Kanye’s Very GOOD Beats imprint as an in-house producer for G.O.O.D. Music.

What He Added: A regal level of ostentatiousness.

Where Is He Now? Most recently, S1 worked on Eminem’s sequel to the Marshall Mathers LP and Lecrae’s Church Clothes 3 mixtape.

Emile

Kanye Affiliation: Emile has been adjacent to the Kanye bubble for a long time, producing first for Rhymefest and then on Kid Cudi’s breakout tape, A Kid Named Cudi. (He, along with Cudi and Plain Pat, started the Dream On imprint that released Cudi’s debut, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, in conjunction with G.O.O.D. Music.) He only co-produced one track with Kanye, but it’s a big one: The heartfelt toast to the douchebags, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s "Runaway."

What He Added: An artsy elegance.

Where Is He Now? Since working with Kanye, Emile has played a key role in crafting the aesthetics of up-and-comers, just as he did for Kid Cudi: He was the major player behind Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die and he worked with fellow Kanye Think Tank member Arca on FKA twigs’ LP1. Most recently, he co-produced the debut of fun.’s Nate Ruess with Jeff Bhasker. He’s also worked on other hits for Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran.

Kanye Bump? It’s hard to say whether or not Emile benefited from his collaboration with Kanye since the producer was already on track to be a mainstream success (he received a Grammy for his work on Eminem’s Recovery a year prior to his Kanye co-sign), but it certainly didn’t hurt.

Brodinski

Kanye Affiliation: Many electronic producers were brought in to work on Yeezus, including Daft Punk, Hudson Mohawke, Gesaffelstein, Evian Christ, Arca, and Lunice. But Brodinski might’ve been the hidden gem—a French DJ with a real feel for the seam where hip-hop and electronica are stitched together. After working with Theophilus London, he was invited to work with Kanye and ended up working on the wailing, King L-featuring "Send It Up."

What He Added: A totally different perspective.

Where Is He Now? Last year, Brodinski helmed one of the best rap albums that no one heard, Brava, featuring Makonnen, Bricc Baby Shitro, Yung Gleesh, SD, Bloody Jay, and PeeWee Longway. He also produced records from Shitro’s solo tape, Nasty Dealer, and for BeatKing & Gangsta Boo.

Kanye Bump? Yes, working on Yeezus was unquestionably a profile raiser.

Jeff Bhasker

Kanye Affiliation: Once a keyboardist on the Glow in the Dark tour, Bhasker would go on to co-write and produce songs for both 808s & Heartbreak and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, including "Amazing," "Love Lockdown," "Paranoid," "Power," "All of the Lights," and "Runaway," with Jay Z’s Kanye-featuring single for Blueprint 3, "Run This Town," squished in between. He also worked on Watch the Throne.

What He Added: A touch of the dramatic.

Where Is He Now? Bhasker most recently found success as a producer and writer for pop rockers fun. ("We Are Young," "Some Nights") and with longtime collaborator Bruno Mars.

Kanye Bump? Yes, since working with Kanye, Bhasker has had seven singles chart in the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 for six different artists.